[OPINION] Montclair And Newark To Be Commended For Making Communities Safer For All

Complete Streets is an ongoing initiative to help communities improve the lives of their residents through changes to roadways, sidewalks, and intersections. These policies are intended to make neighborhoods more accessible to pedestrians, seniors, bicyclists and residents. AARP has long advocated for those policies that will improve the quality of life for all across our state.

Recently, Mayor Cory Booker implemented Complete Streets initiatives in Newark as mart of the Newark Master Plan that will allow for a safer and healthier way of life for his residents. Mayor Booker has stated “… people should understand fundamentally to create livable cities, to improve the quality of life, to literally save lives, initiatives like this are imperative in the State of New Jersey”. Policies such as these speak to that mission. Just to the northwest, Essex County neighbor Montclair, under the leadership of former Mayor Jerry Fried, set the bar in using Complete Streets policies to make its community safer. There, residents are able to bike and walk safely amongst each other and there are measures in place to reduce speeding. These policies work to bring improvements for all ages.

We commend the 37 NJ municipalities have taken action in implementing these policies, are ask residents of others to urge their own elected officials to do the same.